Wind on the Seas
by dtmbabe18
Summary: Bella disguises herself as a boy in 1803, & sneaks on a warship. There she meets Edward Cullen. What are these feelings? Love? It can't be. Secrets? They both have them. But for how long? B&E Bloody Jack non nescessary read & Twilight crossover
1. Chapter 1

**REDO ALL OF MY LOVELY READERS!!!! I HOPE ITS IMPROVED AND PLEASE DONT SHOOT ME AS I COME OUT NERVOUSLY FROM BEHIND THE COUCH FOR NOT UPDATING IN AGES... ITS NOT MUCH BUT EXPECT THE PTHER CHAPPIES SOON!!!**

**Wind on the Seas**

Bella's POV

The familiar smells of my home town seemed to be permanently burned into my nose. Everything that I had ever known was here. I had grown up here; my friends still lived, fought, stole, and died here, in this very place. Family graves were all that remained of my past in Cheapside, London. In the year 1803, people were still after me.

My name is Bella, or Isabella, Swan. My ever so beautiful (catch the sarcasm?) town was one of the most dangerous places to live in all of Britain. I'm seventeen years old, and my birthday is September 13th. At present, it is somewhere around May, I think.

Everything was here, but… I was going to have to leave it all behind, and could probably never face it again. I couldn't stay here anymore, not after everything that had happened. When my parents had died sometime back during that bedamned January night, I had been kicked out into the streets. That was three years ago, when I was fourteen. At one point, I had finally fallen in with a gang of street kids that quickly became my family, or, at least, the only thing that even came close. At least, until the unthinkable had finally happened. Me, the best thief among us, was caught stealing.

Pathetic, I know, but it's the very bland truth. Last week, I had stolen a noble snob lady's necklace. When she discovered the theft, she apparently had hired agents to find me, because that damn stupid necklace, with its pearl and gold enamel inlay warped into beautiful and intricate spiderwebs, was some kind of treasured family heirloom. For the past couple of days, I had been on the run, hiding in street gutters that ran with unpleasant substances that I won't subject anyone, including myself, to have to think about, or on high rooftops, even once in the enormous cathedra, crouched under some of the worn, incense-smelling church pews to avoid detection. My friends all knew where to find me, and usually once a day Jesse, Josh, Mary, Nancy, or Charlie would show up with some food and we would talk for a while, updating me on the latest gang activities in the surrounding area. Inevitably, though, they always had to go, leaving me alone to face my boredom head on.

The hired bastards were still after me, and although hiding in drainpipes that reeked of old rot, or on top of some old biddy's rich, noble roof had kept me safe for a while, my luck was eventually run out, and I would take part in a fatal fight, where my inept clumsiness would probably prove to be a fatality to aide in my demise. The first thing I did when I discovered the two huge, burly men following me was to sell the necklace and then high tail it out of town, at least for a while.

My decision was made. Staying in the town that had raised and weaned me was much too risky, for me and all of the others concerned. I was going to leave, despite my unwillingness to drop all that I had gained in the past few years for one of my own stupid, clumsy errors. I would disguise myself as a boy, then book passage on a British warship, or just a meager merchant, to get me to America, where I could start fresh. When I finally got there I would decide what to actually _do_ with my life.

At this particular moment, I was curled up on a worn rooftop, perched precariously atop the sliding shingles coating the slanting structure, my knees hugged up to my chest as I curled myself into the fetal position (and there's not that much of me to curl, believe me). My chin rested heavily on my knees, conveniently located directly under my face, and my mind was running at ninety miles and hour.

Staring over the rooftops as the city lights winked at me and darkness fell in velvety waves, I sighed, uncurling from my crouch, and disappearing in fast fading shadows, riding on the winds of fate, wherever they may take me.

The knife glistened wickedly in my clenched hands as waves of long, mahogany hair fell to my feet in the dark, narrow alley, feather light and dejected looking. My whole body was tensed, almost rigid, with my dark chocolate eyes screwed up tight as I felt the pain of my hair being currently ripped free of my skull against their will. _Come on, hair, now is not the time to mess with me. You are being cut, so deal with it! _I had clenched my teeth together so hard that I heard them creak and groan in protest. Unfortunately, there was no possible way on this earth for me to pass as a boy with long wavy hair. Passing as a boy with short dark hair wouldn't be much easier, but it would definitely prevent some undo suspicion (well, I guess it's not totally undo suspicion).

As I finished putting myself through some pretty unbearable torture, (a.k.a. pulling hair out by the roots) I sighed. A few hours before, while it was still dark when most people were sound asleep in their beds, I had literally run into a fully loaded clothesline (glory!) and snatched some boys' clothes. Now, I inspected my prize: long, dark black trousers, an almost white shirt with cut off sleeves fraying at the shoulder, and a dark midnight black vest, with brass buttons coming down the front. _Not too bad,_ I thought to myself.

Using a broken piece of mirror that I had found when I, ahem, stepped on it, I inspected my new haircut. It was choppy, uneven, and unruly, with a length of about an inch long. My "bangs" (short spikes that stuck up in the front of my forehead in a widows' peak) glinted with light that shone from the weak sunlight that was starting to peak wearily out from behind Blackfriar's Bridge, and I was able to clearly discern my auburn highlights that glittered throughout my mangled hair in the colors of an autumn night. All in all, I still looked too pretty for a boy, although I do know that I'm not exactly beautiful, but what the hell, I'd pass off, as long as I was careful.

The only downside was that, well, guys don't have, you know, _chests_. So, I quickly slithered out of the old, incredibly ragged and ratty brown trousers that had come down to my knees in tatters, exchanging them for the new black ones, which definitely were an improvement in my extremely limited and nonexistent wardrobe. Then on went the vest, which I had to lace seriously and uncomfortably tight, which made it difficult to breathe, and finally on went the white shirt after removing my old, of course tattered, navy blue one.

Once I finished changing, I took my old clothes, as well as scooping up what was left of my hair sitting in the dirt, still dancing in a slight breeze, though not very happily, it seemed, and dumped them unceremoniously into an old tin garbage can a few feet away. I then took my knife and stuck it back into its tooled, leather sheath, which I had carefully placed inside my vest _ouch ouch ouch_, and finally set off, bare feet barely leaving a whisper behind me in the dirt, the air only slightly stirring, leaving dear old Cheapside behind. Warily, I crept down the old, familiar side alley to the great bridge, stopping to take one last look behind me at the one and only place that I'd ever called home. Maybe one day I'd return. Maybe not.


	2. Goddess Found

**Chapter 2: Goddess Found**

**Bella's POV**

I was totally fed up with this. After about three years on the streets, you'd think that life'd get easier for you, at least for a little while. I, of course, had no such luck. The only things that I had to my name were: black floor length trousers, black vest, shirt, knife, and sheath. All of the money that I had gotten for the damn stupid necklace I had given to my gang to give them a break for a while. The little bit that I had kept for myself had long since been used up on food.

I had left that fateful night almost a full three weeks ago. Now, to you, that might now sound like a lot, but trust me, it is. All of the money was gone, and I still didn't have a sure plan to get out of Britain. That old rich snob was probably going to have pictures of "The Thief" up in all of the nearby surrounding towns, like Lakeview, Panamon, and Lizzerly. The only ting that was certain was that I had to get out. Fast. Call it paranoia, or some weird sixth sense that had saved but sorry ass to many times to count, but whatever it was, I trusted my gut instinct.

Exhausted, I walked in a slouch as I entered a new town, right off of the Thames river. Looking around, I saw many different shops and merchant stalls all the down the long, dusty, winding alley, one saying Chandlers House, another, some kind of tavern, Down Street Barrels. Assorted buildings of all sizes and varying layers of filth ran along the street. Then I turned and gasped.

Although I had grown and been weaned by a river, I had never seen the ocean. What I saw was an enormous, larger than life marvel of swirls of blues, purples, greens, whitecaps shattering against the jagged, deadly rocks that formed the only barrier between the sands and the salt. A breeze whipped what was left of my hair, bringing the scent of fish, salt, and adventure with it. My eyes widened. This is what I had been waiting for.

Built on top of the jagged pier were what had to be hundreds of docks. And each dock went out about 100 yards, with the huge, beautiful warships of the king's navy. There were countless ships all the way down the line of endless docks, as far as the eye could see, sails all wrapped up and out of the way of the possibly bothersome wind. Having the ship warped out of port when it wasn't supposed to could be pretty annoying, I bet. Oh, did you know, my friends have often said that I have understatement down to an art.

As I watched, I saw one of the magnificent ships being warped out of port I turned. It was astounding to see all of the sails unfurl all at once, the wind catching hold and not relinquishing it. Small sailors clambered all over the ships, doing different things that I couldn't really guess at. The waves parted at her prow, at least, I think that's what it's called, and whitecaps flew out in graceful arcs, with green water flowing smoothly away. I sighed in envy.

Walking farther down the alley as the sunlight filtered through the early morning haze, which was just starting to lift, I saw a huge crowd of boys, all looking to be in their early or mid teens, gathered around one ship. Upon closer inspection, I saw that this particular ship had, like, two masts, and a lady at the front of the prow, by the bowsprit, that was mostly just totally skin, with very little amount of dress. What there was of the dress was a bright, clear sapphire, with matching lips, and dark brown hair. She looked like a goddess, definitely worthy of the rest of the ship. I'm not gay or anything, just saying.

Now, the ship herself was a masterpiece. What looked like a deep chestnut wood made up the whole hull, and what I could see of the deck itself was completely and spotlessly white. The masts and other wood parts of the ship, and I wasn't at all sure what they were called, were made of the same material as the body of the ship. Aft of the ship was a name delicately painted in the same sapphire blue as the lady, that name being, of course, the HMS _Goddess_. Not too creative as a name, but, hey, I'll take it. Everything was spik and span neat, the exact opposite of me, but what the hell, I'd deal.

As I approached the group of eager boys, I wanted to know what all this hullabaloo was about. Getting closer, being careful not to trip, I might add, as I happened to be cursed by being extremely accident prone, even if I was a great thief, I heard this enormous mass of muscle of a man yell out, "Alright, then, you little bastards, we're taking on a few of yiz to work your way on this ship for His Majesty. This life ain't easy, and I'm only able t' choose a few of yiz, so what can any of yiz do?"

So, that was what this was about. That sure explained a lot. And it also showed me a way out. I climbed on top of a barrel of God knows what, just to think for a minute. It took me about a grand total of ten seconds to realize that I could do something that most of the buggers probably never even thought about. I could read.

Most people off of the streets can't read, just so you know. That was one of the reasons I was so valuable to my gang. Besides being an awesome thief, I could read, which got us some nice money sometimes to read out the billboards that were posted on the printer's window weekly to the small mob that surrounded us. Otherwise, barely anyone can read, and I just loved it. In some of my many burglaries, I had snatched some of the better books to find. I personally loved Shakespeare. Romeo and Juliet was just so, I dunno, special. I used to fantasize about Josh, actually, becoming my Romeo, but that was before I saw him making out with a bitch from another gang. Well, she wasn't really a bitch, I just didn't like her.

A clamor instantly rose up among all of the other street rats, or, more specifically, wharf rats. Murmurings ran through about different special talents, and I won't bore you with all of the different things people shouted, desperate to leave this God forsaken land behind. Finally, after four other boys were chosen, I stoop up and said proudly, "I can read." Instantly, everyone shut up, and then I heard something along the lines of, _Who the hell cares about that? _Actually, the big burly man ushered me aboard after a moment's consideration. All I could think was _YES_! I was on my way.

* * *

Because of my size, (which is small, about 5'4, and 100 lbs) I had said that I was fifteen. When I had told the other guy with the paper and quill and ink my age, he had said, "Well, isn't that a bit small for your age." If only he knew. Oh, yeah. My new name was Issac Ride, but I told everyone that I met that I like to be called "Ise". NOT "is" more like "eyes", and I was teased a little for it, but it was close enough to the name Isabella, even if everyone that I had known before had called me Bella at my own request, this was fine for me.

Damn. Turns out I was let on board 'cause the scholar aboard wanted someone to help out teaching the other boys. Ah well. I've said this so many times that it's running raw, but _I'll deal_. As soon as I was aboard the ever so beautiful (and this time I'm not being sarcastic) Goddess, I met all of the other boys. Only one had been chosen after me, so there were six of us total.

Jake was sixteen, bright and happy, with almost black eyes and matching hair. He was always cheerful, and very big, probably at 6'5. He could pass for twenty, easy. Not too bad looking, I noticed. I _am_ seventeen after all.

Mike, quickly renamed Mikey, (NOT Mickey) was, I'd say, 6'0, with the blonde hair and blue eyes that made most girl bat their eyes. He was, by any standards, very hot, but I only thought of him as a friend. He was seventeen, like me.

Willy was just a big hunk of muscle, with the brown hair and brown eyes, sort of like me. His hair was more of a mud brown, but that could just be due to the fact that there was actually mud caked into it. From what I overheard, he was somewhere between eighteen and nineteen. Still hot, or he probably could be if he was clean, but didn't strike my fancy.

Nick was small and happy. He had black hair that stuck up at all angles, and striking gray eyes. He was always with a joke or a story, I soon learned, but kept most of them reserved for me. Nick was dark, too, and secretive. With him around, I could always have a quiet moment to myself, unlike with any of the others. At sixteen, he was very small at about 100 lbs, 5'6, maybe. He quickly became my best friend, in, like, a matter of minutes.

John, now named Johnny, had white blonde hair with the oddest black streaks in them. His eyes were sapphire blue, of course, and he was seventeen. He also had to be the hottest guy on the planet. Even he didn't strike my fancy, oddly.

Because that honor went to the last guys ushered aboard after me. Turns out, he had a reserved place among the sailors, and they were all waiting for him to show up, and then he finally walked up the long, wooden gangway, just as I had a few minutes before.

HOLY SHIT!

He was absolutely gorgeous! The dude (hee hee) was extremely muscular, and looked like he had a six pack. Bronze beautiful hair that stuck up daintily from all over his head had a slight blonde to them, and a few long strands hung down by his startlingly golden-topaz eyes. Yes, topaz. A sort of a gold color. Never in my life have I ever seen such eyes like that before. They showed some distant pain, sorrows never meant for anyone else, and wisdom. He was as pale as white, like, seriously, white. His skin looked like a pale creamy cloud color (on a day when it definitely wasn't going to rain), and looked as smooth as untouched snow.

He came on board right after I had started to talk to everyone else.

"Hey, Ise, ya wanna come with the rest of us to see what kinda food we can scavenge from around here? I ain't et in a week, and I need some grub, and, like, fast, man!" Johnny inquired smoothly.

I was about to answer, "Sure, man, I'm starved!" as Nick, Willy, Jake, and Mikey all said, things like, "Sure, dude, I'll come, I ain't eaten neither!" when I turned around to see him shoved aboard.

He was in dark brown cotton trousers, which were _very_ finely tailored, and probably very costly, with a matching white shirt with some clear buttons down a neat row on his, ahem, finely muscled chest, no boots (not like anybody else had them, anyway), and knife sheaths under his left sleeve.

I was in absolute amazement and had to _very_ quickly shut my mouth before I started eating flies, or something like it, and, anyway, guys don't gawp at other hot guys. Ya know, it just isn't done.

The last new guy walked on over to us, with a slight grin plastered on his face, turning up the corners of his mouth. All in all, absolutely charming. And what did I know about charming things? Nada. Zip. Zero. Did I mention before that he was incredibly hot?

_Shit! I can't act like a lovesick girl! Well, maybe if they knew I was a girl, but not as a boy_. I started to panic, but managed to momentarily compose myself as he walked over.

Just as I finished that thought, I heard him say, "Hey."

I wasn't really paying too much attention as all of the others introduced themselves, but when I saw him turn to me expectantly, I gulped fast, them murmured, "Issac. Call me Ise, please."

"Good to meet you, Ise. I'm Edward Cullen."


	3. On Board

**Hey people sorry i haven't updated in so long, I was banned from the computer until today because I put off another school project until the last minute. And then of course my birthday was Feb 28, so yeah. Just to clear things up, Bella is on board a ship, met four other guys, and then Edward comes on board, and I left that on a cliff. Once again, I have some serious spelling issues, and don't hold anything against me for it. If you don't like this chapter, well, get over it. So, here goes: 3, 2, 1...**

* * *

**Chapter 3: On Board**

Edward's POV

I didn't want to go on board the HMS _Goddess_, but I didn't have much of a choice. My family, the others that I "lived" with, Alice and Jasper, Rosalie and Emmett, and my "father" and "mother", Carlisle and Esme, were all in America, waiting for me. Of course, I could have booked passage as a passenger, but the last time I had been a passenger on a ship, I had attracted _way_ too much attention, due to the fact that the captain's daughter had been on board, and she apparently took a liking to me, making me a target for the other jealous crewmates to pick on. If only they knew…

So, while I had been looking through a newspaper, I had seen the spot on the HMS _Goddess_, and it seemed perfect for my cause. The only major downside would be that getting food would be especially hard on board a ship, as I well knew, and there was also that little snag that I might accidentally kill someone. I wouldn't do it on purpose, but it could happen. An upside was that an adventure, however small, would be a little out of the ordinary for me, and I would enjoy it, eventually.

It was May 23, 1803, when I finally boarded the _Goddess_. There were throngs of boys from about the age of ten to maybe twenty five all clustered around the gangway, yelling. Out by the far rail, on the starboard side, were five other boys, all looking to be in their mid teens to their early twenties. Other sailors all clambered around on the deck, getting her ready for shipping out of port.

I sauntered up to the big man that stood on the braced gangway. He had nothing on my "brother" Emmett, even if he did have muscles like a cow and a rawhide whip in his hand, the Nine Tailed Cat. I had seen many get that lash, but only from below deck, where I would stand clenched up and unbreathing. No matter how good I was, I could always slip, and open blood is never a good thing around me.

"Excuse me sir. I am Edward Cullen, and I was supposed to be a part of this crew," I said smoothly.

The man, who I took to be the Bos'un, blinked as his eyes unfocused. I could never control that habit, to my dismay. "Cullen? Oh right, I forgot about you. Alright, sign in here, and then take a look around topside. I'm the Bos'un, Sweeney, and the captain is Liam Scott. Welcome to the Goddess," Sweeney said, stumbling around a bit, thinking, _Who the hell _is_ this guy? He's got my tongue tied in knots! What the hell?!_

I stalked over to the makeshift table on the old pier, glancing down at the old, withered, wrinkled specimen sitting on a stool behind it. A piece of parchment was on the weathered old wood, reading:

**HMS **_**Goddess**_

**Captain**: Liam Scott

**First Mate**: James Higgins

**Lieutenants**: John Riley

James Peters

Michael Hopes

Luc McHeart

**Crew**: Craig Downs

Liam Overmyer

George Donald

Mike Fink

Shay Scotts

Robert Presco

Joel Roberts

…… and the list went on and on. I took the sharp black quill in my icy hand, dipped it in the midnight ink, and slashed in my signature liquid script, "Edward Cullen" below Billy Barnes. I delicately grabbed my sea bag, and jumped up the gangway, heading or the five boys I had seen talking earlier.

As I approached, I listened to them. One of them, the biggest among them, with muddy brown hair and eyes, was thinking along the lines of _Man, I'm so hungry! I haven't eaten since I ran away a few days ago, damn, I really hope that they feed us… _

Another one, who was small, and probably one of the youngest ones there, thought _These guys are real nice. Who ever thought? And I thought that I'd be the youngest, too, but I'm not, Ise can deal with that._

I won't bore you with all of the others thoughts that sifted through these four's heads. And in case you're wondering, yes, I _can_ read minds. But the strangest thing…The one boy, looking about fourteen, maybe fifteen, and the youngest, whom I believe that the other small one had referred to as Ise, had no thoughts. Either that… Or I just hadn't the power to breach his mind. There was one thing I could tell about him, though: he had a big secret, maybe as big as mine. Did I mention that my secret to reading minds and why I'm so cold and dead looking is _because I'm dead_. My family and I are all vampires.

* * *

Shock, huh? To most people it would seem that way, but not many people even believed that we existed. That was why eating would be a hazard on a ship. My family and I had given up human blood, thinking that it was unethical, so we dined on animals. On the ocean, though, after the lookouts weren't watching me, I would have to absolutely silently slip into the icy water, which I didn't really feel, find some larger sea animal, like a dolphin, shark, or even a whale, once, catch it, kill it, and eat it. Then I would have to relocate the ship, silently climb back on board without the watches even noticing me, put on clothes, which I didn't wear to soak while I took a dip in the ocean, and get back to the berth I was staying in. A hazard, annoying but necessary for the survival of everyone on this ship. But they didn't know that, and I wasn't about to enlighten them. 

Anyway, back to the present and its problem. I couldn't hear Ise's mind. That is a very bad thing when you are a vampire, at least for me, not so much for other people. To my knowledge, I was the only vampire with the ability to hear minds from a distance. Ise was the only exception to that rule that I had ever encountered, in all my hundred years. Before you ask, yes, I was born on February 28, 1701, but my father, Carlisle, had changed my when I had turned seventeen, and was dying of some plague or another. I never even knew which. I wonder if it was still around.

I was brought back to the present once again as my bare feet picked up the flaws in the spotless deck they rested on as I walked over to the others. They all turned as I approached, but I made eye contact first with startled deep chocolate brown eyes, and they were the only things that I could see. I felt some unknown force stir inside me, and it wasn't one that I expected, that being the need to drain his body of blood, but something that I had never encountered before. It was a pulling need to do… something? I didn't know. There was a jumped feeling in my icy dead heart, and it felt like a huge hole had been ripped out, then resewn. Very odd.

He quickly looked away, and I broke free of the spell I was cast under. I started, but was able to quickly recover. Nothing like that had ever occurred before, and it was definitely something to ponder. Then the leader, or whom I took to be the leader, with blonde and black hair, scrutinized me, then said, "So, you're the last one. I'm Johnny. You look alright man."

I shook hands with this Johnny person, then turned to the others, who in turn introduced themselves as Jake, Willy, Mikey, and Nick. Finally, the chocolate eyes boy just stuttered, "Issac. Call me Ise, please."

_Hmmm, so _this_ is Ise_. I took another sly look at him: 5'4, 100 lbs or so, a deep, shiny mahogany hair, which was about an inch long and roughly cut, in ragged, worn clothes. It may sound like I was checking him out, but I would rather not be interested in a guy. I was still looking for my vampire lady, although she hadn't caught my eye yet.

"Good to meet you," I replied, "I'm Edward Cullen."

Ise just nodded his head, starting to look a little more comfortable, but still dazed. Unfortunately, I just happened to have that power over people. He held out his hand, which was small and calloused, and I firmly gripped it in mine for a second. I felt an odd attachment to this guy, one that was going to drive me insane until I figured it out. As he went back to the far rail, looking out over the ocean to watch, presumably, other ships leave port, I once again futilely tried to enter his mind. He seemed to wince, but that was it. Not another word was said, and I knew that for however long I lived, I would always wonder about this one kid that had been a complete mystery to me. Do not get me wrong, I am no stalker, but…

_Ise, I am going to find out your secret_.


	4. Scare

**Ok, now I'm up to chapter 4, and I know that some of the names in the the previous chapter were actually from some of the books, but what the hell, i don't really care. They are not my characters, I'm just using their names. For anyone concerned with the fact that Bella is so un-Bella like, you have to remember that she has lived on the streets for years, and is used to surviving and is hard, mentally. Edward, I just changed his personality a little to tweak the relationship and keep it in proportion. 3...2...1.. Go...!**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Scare**

_Bella POV_

I was still in absolute and irreversible shock. So, his name was Edward Cullen. I would never forget that name. Oh, this was going to be so hard! I was just so drawn to him! When I met his eyes, gorgeous topaz eyes, as he had approached us, looking absolutely bewitching, I felt my heart misbehave, leaping around in my chest. I shook my head and broke the spell I had been put under, loosing his gorgeous gaze. _What the hell does this mean? Am I in love with a guy that I've never even met before?_ After I had walked in on Josh and his bitch, I had sworn to myself never to love a guy again, even if the guy never knew I was in love with him in the first place.

After he introduced himself, with his beautifully bronzed hair flying in the wind, and his hand as cold as ice, literally, I went back into the partial stupor I had gone into when I had first seen him. The only thing I could think of when he shook my small, calloused hand in his own, the one that wasn't holding on to the small navy blue sea bag, was how smooth and cold he was. His skin felt as smooth and icy as marble left in the snow.

I turned back to the rail that I had been leaning on when Edward showed up on the deck with his glorious shine, to try and clear my head. Looking out over the ocean, I saw numerous ship unfurl their sails and the wind whipped into them. As I thought, _Great, now this will be twice as hard to pass for a guy until I get to America because I am almost positive that I really like this guy Edward. Guy , who am I kidding? He's a long lost Greek god! _I felt pressure building up in my head, and I winced in pain.

_Yow, damn! Where the hell did that come from!?!?!_ I blinked away tears that I was certain would make themselves apparent if it happened again, but thank God that it didn't.

Distantly, I heard Jake say, "Hey, Ise, uh, I though' ya said that you were gonna come on with us. We all need to eat, ya know. From the way you look, we both come from the same sorta place, and we all know that the life of a street rat is hard, and you gotta get grub."

I came back to myself enough to answer his anxious gaze, "Sure, just gimme a sec. Be right there behind ya."

Edward was gazing at me quizzically, as if I was a puzzle he was just dying to figure out. I return the look with raised brows, but I didn't look him straight in the eyes again. I had learned _that_ lesson well enough. As I turned to follow Jake and the rest, I heard him come up and follow us below.

* * *

"Crap, man, how stupid could we get?!??!" Johnny whispered as the six of us crouched down behind the huge barrels of what was presumably wine or something similar. I ain't ever had wine, so I couldn't tell you. The Bos'un was approaching us quickly, and we all shut up fast as hell. As his shadow grew larger, we shrunk down against each other. We all knew that the penalty of being caught in a once padlocked room would be a whipping or they would throw us off the ship. And we hadn't even left the harbor yet! 

How did we get into the old padlocked room? I am a girl of many talents. While I had been wandering around town, I had snatched some pins from this old, ancient and decrepit woman who looked like she was half blind. I didn't feel guilty at all, because she yelled at everyone who walked over and then didn't buy anything. I stole them because they were the kind that I could use to alter my clothes if I needed to.

When we had come upon a padlocked room that smelled a little like food while we were on a search for the kitchen, I had whipped four pins from the pocket of the dark trousers that I had stolen only a few weeks ago. Truly, was it only a few weeks? Then I stuck them into the padlock, shimmied them around for a few painstakingly long seconds, and suddenly the rusty old padlock popped open. Dear old Charlie had taught me how to do that years ago. I was so adept at it that I could get into almost anything, including padlocked rooms aboard ships.

Just as footsteps rounded the corner, the last of us (Nick) slipped in and close the door. Surprisingly, Edward, although he could obviously afford almost anything, had come with us. None of us took a breath as the loud, crunching footsteps faded away around the far bend to the left or the inside of the door. Then we all turned and gasped. Well, except for Edward.

The entire room was full of caskets of wine and beers and who knew what else. The room was big, about 20x20 feet, and caskets reached the ceiling, all the way to the back. As we all stood around like retards, which we probably are, more footsteps passed by, and this person must have realized that the padlock was no longer locked. Every one of us shared shocked, panicked looks, then dove behind the largest piles of barrels.

Dimly, I saw Jake and Willy disappear on the other side of the room, and Mikey and Nick farther down in the room, leaving me behind the largest stack with Johnny and (hee hee) Edward. At the close proximity, I could feel Edward breathing down my neck as Johnny crouched low down next to me, on the left. His breath was cool and reminded me of pines. I inhaled deeply in my insanity, then came back to my senses as the door opened.

The big burly man with the whip peered into the gloom, with the corded whip still in his hand. Warily, he stalked into the room, eyes narrowed in suspicion. I shrank back farther as he crept closer to my hiding place. Edward had tensed up the moment I had exhaled his heavenly scent, and he remained that way. Standing against him, I felt like I was standing against a granite statue, but I relished the moment.

I came back to the present crisis as the Bos'un passed us. Given the chance, I inspected the whip more closely. The handle was of hard worked leather and wood, possibly, with nine strands of corded leather, and the sight of the knotted leather with blood crusted on them almost made me sick to my stomach. _I can't let them get me with that! I can't let anyone get that close! _my thoughts screamed as I pointedly ignored the fact that I was such a hypocrite, being pressed against Edward as I was. And I didn't particularly like pain.

As I worried about being a hypocrite, I saw the big, scary man grow closer to Nick and Mikey's hiding place. I felt my throat constrict as I saw that if he went about another five feet, he would clearly see the other two.

So I made one of my famous snap decisions. Slowly, I turned around to reach behind Johnny as he eyed me critically, wondering what the hell I was up to. I saw the pile of broken wood that had probably been a casket at one point, and picked up the largest piece as silently as I could. Edward must have been a mind reader, because suddenly he grinned a dazzling smile that made me loose my train of thought, and moved farther back, giving me room to move past him.

I shook my head to clear it, which I was only able to do after his gaze had broken off from mine, then stealthily moved out, almost from behind the stained caskets, then, with one hand, lifted the huge piece of jagged, splintery wood, and chucked it as hard as I could outside of the room, then jumped as fast as I could back behind the pile of barrels, almost tripping over Edward, who caught me. He seemed to be better now than he was before.

Johnny grinned at me with a foolish, happy grin plastered on his face, and nodded. When the wood had crashed into the deck outside, the Bos'un leaped up as if burned, and ran out of the room as fast as he could, leaving the door wide open in a great stretch of luck.

My feet were silent as I motioned to everyone to follow me as I led the way out onto the deck topside as quickly as I could possibly move. There was barely a whisper as the other five grinned idiotically and slapped each other high fives for their great escape, silently, of course, and once we scampered up the ladder and onto the spotlessly clean deck, they all yelled as their excitement died down. Only Edward didn't yell, just scrutinized me carefully, calculating. Then he grinned and said, for me only, "You are a quick thinker, Ise Ride. Amazing."

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**Ha, so I hope that you liked it, and thanks if you stayed with the story for this long. I know that the beginning was pretty crappy, but I think, hope, pray that it will get better.**


	5. Tiny Problems

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**Author's Note: hey im sorry i havent updated in such a long time. theres just been a lot going on lately. like, one of my best friends just asked me out a few weeks ago! ive spent most of my time talking to him on aim, so yeah. this chapter isnt that great, its just basically a filler from when i was having a writer's block, but i have chapter six written, i just need to type it, and i have the idea for chapter seven, so i should be faster, if only marginally. again, im sry for not updating, this dismal chapter, and my spellig errors. 3... 2... 1.. go...**

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**Chapter 5: Tiny Problems**

Bella POV

Okay, this isn't good. Like, at all. I can't believe how stupid I am, and probably always will be. Why did I ever think that I could pull this charade off? Because my brain is the size of a garbanzo bean.

First of all, umm, there is only one bathroom on this ship, the head. That's actually what it's called. And a lot of guys are all in there together. So, now what? Like I said, this is not good. Damn, I have absolutely no idea as to how I'm going to pull this off now.

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I jumped down the square hatchway and sprinted lightly towards the sound of boys and men cheerfully cursing each other off while in the kitchens, berths, and….. the head. Very flattering name. this problem was going to have to be fixed. Fast. So, here I go to my doom…. Maybe.

I peered through the square opening in the hull, or body of the ship, that opened into the head. Inside, I was able to barely discern four other figures in the gloom: Jake, Johnny, Nick, and… Edward. I guess that Willy was above decks doing something or other.

_Damn_, I thought, _Well, here goes_.

Timidly, I trotted over to the barbarically laughing figures that made rude jokes at each other as they relieved themselves standing over the huge, long iron horse trough set against the thickened wood of the ship. Next to it sat a long, rough and crude wooden bench with five holes cut across the top. Beneath, the smooth waters of the ocean were visible, sparkling with the visible sunlight.

Laughing at some joke or another, Johnny turned, buttoning up his trousers, and saw me walking towards them uncertainly. He grinned at me and said, "Lookee here, it's Ise, the hero of the day. Come on over here…" He motioned me over with his hands, blue eyes sparkling in contrast against his white blonde and midnight black hair. Everyone else all turned, still laughing, to look over at me cheerfully, inviting me over with laughing eyes.

Only Edward looked at me quizzically, like I was just something that he couldn't figure out. I met his topaz eyes for a fraction of a second, and then quickly ducked my head, grinning.

"And so the hero surfaces," laughed Jake, "our savior and hope, the bright eyes of us all, Ise-" he was cut off abruptly as Nick cuffed the large boy in his big block head. Whatever, it stopped his rant.

I crinkled my nose in annoyance, but laughed along with everyone else anyway. Even though Jake could be an ass, he was like a sun, always bright and happy, and he felt like a brother even only after knowing him for about an hour, if that.

Dimly, I heard everyone continue with their boisterous antics because Edward had grinned at me again. Whenever I caught a glimpse of his gorgeous eyes, I felt like I was captivated and hypnotized. It was a heady feeling, like the universe collided with me.

I came out of my weird trance as Edward's gaze broke as he turned to join the others who were filing out of the bathroom, still full of high spirits. He flashed me another quick grin as he followed them, moving fluidly towards the door.

I walked in a daze to the horse trough and waited with baited breath and my hands down by the buttons of my ratty trousers.

Johnny popped his head back through the door a moment later. "Hey, Ise, come on. We're waiting for ya," he whined, if it was possible for someone like Johnny to whine.

That was my queue. I started fidgeting like guys do, 'cause I would know, having lived with all of my friends for years. _Please let this work_, I prayed.

"Oh, sorry dude. Come meet us outside though, 'k? See ya topside!" Johnny's head disappeared, as did his infectious grin, as he whipped his head around and jogged away. As his footsteps faded away, I allowed myself one evil grin as I turned back around and headed out the door way.

_One major problem solved_, I thought as I felt my bare feet hit the smooth wood of the topside deck as I leaped through the hatchway, _Now let's just see if I can survive the night, not to mention the rest of this voyage_. As my head barely cleared the jutting block of wood as my head popped out of the hatch, I knew that I was in for a ride bumpier than I had bargained for. And perhaps more than I could handle.


	6. Art and Hammocks

**Hey, I am SO SO SO SO SOOO sorry that I haven't updated in so long! My life has been completely crazy, with unknown family showing up and staying with us, and everything else in my crazy life. This is my longest chapter to date, so i hope you enjoy it. After all this time, I tried to make it my best one yet for the long awaited chapter 6. I've also decided to try TRY to redo my other chapters to make them better, fix the lame dialouge problems, etc. And I also thought that for someone who doesn't know the parts of a ship, I'd include a 'dictionary'.**

**DICTIONARY**

**aft, stern back of the ship**

**bow, head front**

**starboard right side**

**port left side of the ship, also the harbor**

**mess hall cafeteria**

**keelhaul to tie a man after stripping by each armm throwing him overboard, and running the ship over him, scrapping him againt the barnacles untill they're a bloody mess and half drowned or dead ( I know it's barbaric, but it's true)**

**crews berths sleeping quarters**

**warp out or port leave port**

**I hope that clears everything up! If I missed anything, you know, theres a reason to review!**

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**Chapter 6: Arts and Hammocks**

BPOV

I had some definite hunger pangs. I was so hungry that I'd eat a whole whale if I had to. Raw. An unpleasant thought, but I was so freakin hungry that I was beyond caring. It felt like I had been kicked in the stomach several times by an angry elephant that weighed at least ten tons. This was the same as it was all those damn long years ago when I'd been kicked out on the streets. Nerves do that to you, I guess.

I had just jumped through the hatch door, and was about to ask everyone else if they wanted to actually go and get some food this time instead of ending up in wine cellars when I saw that they were all huddled intently around Willy, his shaggy hair hanging in his eyes. I was right, he had been topside when I had gone below to the head. Evidently, there had been paint of some sort stored below decks, and evidently Willy had found it, unless he had actually brought them with him and they had managed to escape my notice when I first met him earlier in the day. Personally, I hoped that he had found them, because if not, then my lookout skills were severely lacking. Looked like he knew how to use 'em, though, too.

He was crouched in the hot summer sun on top of a rounded wooden barrel, with another right in front of him. He was straddling the one, and on a small, rectangular canvas sheet sitting atop the other barrel, he used a small, damp, and dainty little brush to press paint on it on the form of a magnificent and beautiful ocean sunset, like those in fairy tales.

The landscape was sparkling greens, blues, purples, grays, swirling together to be intertwined in beautiful waves rising the ocean to almost meet the setting sun in crests of mesmerizing movement. Each crest had its own unique spiral of color in different patterns The aforementioned sun was a brilliant orange flame surrounded by a neon pink, violet, yellow, and very light, almost white, blue shade that was bold enough to break through the feathery cloud cover overhead. Shadows fell in perfect proportions to add a dream like quality to the already amazing painting. The bright orb that was the sun had a glowing reflection on the reaching waves, the fingers that were reaching out to attempt to touch the sun that was setting to sleep behind it. The dimmed, glowing image of the reflection was being caressed by the same watery fingers as its shape rippled across the current I could see forming in the dark waters that Willy was painting.

This work of art Willy was so calmly painting was masterful. Once I had truly taken in the masterpiece, I just stopped with everyone else and stared in absolute awe. It looked so real, as if I could take a hand and touch the glittering water and feel it swell up to embrace my hand with its own cool caress, like a curtain of the finest silk wrapping around the windows it guarded.

Silently, I sank to the hard but smooth deck between Jake and Nick, who had kneeled at Willy's feet, expressions of absolute and Godful worship written all over their awed expressions. For a time, no one said anything as we all immersed ourselves in watching Willy transform a simple piece of canvas into one of the most beautiful pieces probably that any of us had ever seen. I was never sure how long I was crouched between Jake and Nick's silent forms, their body heat enclosing me most soothingly, when my traitorous stomach growled, LOUDLY, in protest. All six of us jumped from our various positions, from a nearby barrel or a comfy piece of deck, like we had each been branded with a fired stake that smote some part of our bodies.

"O-o, oh, yeah, we never did go to get something to eat after that little storeroom incident, did we? I need to be fed, and I think we all know that now that Ise needs to be fed on command," Johnny said after giving Willy and then me a startled look, accompanied by a grin. Of course.

Johnny was obviously going to be the one in charge here. I mean, any one of us could, but Johnny just seemed to fit the role the best, and her seemed more than willing to take on whatever command he could muster from us. No one else seemed to be really interested, either, or at least hadn't really had a reaction to it.

"Oh, you guys, you didn't have t stay here and watch me paint, you know," Willy blustered, embarrassed. Let's go eat, I'm hungry anyway. I can always finish this later if you all want to fawn all over me and my painting skills," he added with a joking grin.

Everyone all ended up going to eat after Willy said that he was done painting for the moment, after we each extracted from him a promise to continue later, with a very grim death promised if he didn't fulfill his promise.

As I trod down the hatch with the others, I though on how Willy was defiantly someone who would eventually be known as an epic master, whose name would be passed on for generations. Everyone else was buggering Willy with questions about where he came from, why he left, where he learned to paint like that, did he know he could before he learned, or was it just all luck and talent? Out of our group only Edward and I said nothing as we generally chatted our way down to the mess hall, passing the other occasional sailor, who was kind enough to tell us how to get there after exchanging a few good natured curses with Johnny and Jake.

Suddenly, I became more aware of Edward's silence behind me. From him I could hear even no footfall, and I was starting to get a little worried, but I didn't know why. Just as I was about to turn, to get a glimpse of his face to see if he was alright, because I just had a feeling, sixth sense again, I heard him speak in his soft velvety voice that could only be claimed by him.

"Hey, I'm sorry, I just don't want to eat right now, you guys. Actually, I don't really feel too great right now."

At his tone, I finally did turn around once I stopped, and looked up into his face, praying that the worry that I shouldn't have for a brand new acquaintance written all over my own face, only to see that his startling golden eyes were darker than they had been before, and for some reason they seemed a little more sinister than before, too. _That is so odd_, I thought, _his eyes seem different_. As I thought that, a felt a little electricity shock me for a moment. A current seemed to momentarily run between us, catching us both as I lost myself in his never-ending pools of topaz, drifting into little hidden feelings and thoughts. I lost myself almost completely in his perfection, analyzing every aspect of his beautiful eyes.

I finally came back to myself, Isabella Swan, when a quick, shockingly perfect grin overtook his features, mesmerizing my eyes this time with his lips, and the way they seemed to move in perfect unison to form a crooked smile that almost made me start to hyperventilate. Swiftly, I looked down as soon as he quickly turned his head.

The others all said something along the lines, "Sure, dude, feel better" "maybe we'll bring you something later" and even a quiet murmur of "I hope I don't catch whatever it is he's got." I just shrugged, trying to shake thoughts of his perfect body from the hopeless mind. He'd be fine. _I hoped_.

He turned gracefully away and loped off, probably to find where the crews' berths were. I watched my Edward gracefully glide away with a sigh. _Whoa, hold on a second, _my Edward?_ Where the hell did that come from? He's definitely not _my Edward_._ Sadly, he probably never would be.

Momentarily after Edward's departure, Jake, Johnny, Mickey, Willy, Nick, and I entered the mess hall for the first time ever. Sturdy wooden tables covered and dotted in numerous stains were sternly bolted down to the whitewashed deck, as well as crude, uneven matching benches that would probably seat four people per bench. Each table had two of the stained and blotchy benches, one on each side. Along the far, port side wall, there was a huge opening, more of an indention of about two feet deep, that spanned the whole length and width of the wall. A make shift shelf was settled right along the middle, with what looked to be a huge fired oven of charred black, open with flames licking greedily outside of the oven, towards the bow of the ship, with an old, beat up stew pot settled right next to it. The delicious aromas emanating from the oven and stew pot were mouthwatering.

On top of the aforementioned wooden, and again stained, shelf, were numerous, flimsy tin trays full of mouthwatering portions of burgoo (oatmeal, etc, with bits and pieces of a little bit of everything) that was gently steaming, a huge steak of probably horse that was lathered in butter and garlic, dripping juice fatly with seasonings coating it thickly and richly, and what looked like rock hard biscuits full of weevils. The bugs were visible all the way over here, but it still looked very edible to a very hungry street thief.

Every single one of us stopped and stared in hungry disbelief at all of the food, and then as a pack of hungry wolves intent on nothing but the kill, we raced over to the shelf from the starboard hatchway, our feet thudding quietly as we pounded the deck. We might as well have been a family of hyenas.

We all grabbed a tray, forsaking the knives and spoons the completed the shelf at the stern end, and leaped into a table. If the worn wood hadn't been bolted down securely to the deck, it would have been sent flying into the other deck hands, who would have, I have no doubt, filled the room with some more colorful sailors cusses as they attacked the five wannabe dumbasses that had hauled a heavy table into them.

The food was beyond good, especially to someone who was starving on and off all of the time. It probably would have been good tasting to someone who hadn't been starving. The steak was melt in your mouth delicious and greasy, smothered in seasonings. I could taste salt and pepper dominantly, and others I couldn't name. I scarfed that down in less than two minutes, to follow it with the watery but _very_ tasty burgoo. The biscuit was indeed rock hard, and I might have chipped a tooth on it, but I just nibbled on it daintily after that, banging it on the table to get rid of the weevils, for good measure. It sounded like when I used to throw rocks at trees to practice my aim_. Thud. Thud. Thud_.

Seeing as we had forsaken the knives and spoons, we ate heartily with our hands.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

After finishing eating and licking the grease from our fingers, we all spent the rest of the day watching Willy paint, since the ship warped out of port the net day, on the morning tide. It was still awe inspiring to see him work.

Edward hadn't been seen by any of us since he left us at the entrance to the mess hall. Somehow, though, I don't think that he would have appreciated the food like the rest of us.

Eventually, when I realized that I would soon pass out from emotional and physical exhaustion, as did everyone else, Johnny asked a passing sailor, who, after exchanging yet a few more good natured curses, told us where to find the crews berths.

Just as we were about to head down, the Bos'un came up to Johnny, Willy, Nick, Jake, Mikey, and I, and started to speak in his rough, dangerous voice. The one that said, "If you don't pay attention, I'll keelhaul all o' you 'uns 'till you're all slabs o' meat."

What he actually said was, "Okee here, you all get yurselves a hammock in the crews berths. We don't gots enough room for all of yiz, so's the two smallest has got to share one," he thundered, pointing at Nick and I.

As we followed the Bo'sun, Nick and I made "damn you" faces at each other, then grinned, punching each other playfully. We were already coming close_. My biggest issues is if he accidentally brushes up against any of my female parts…._ I thought and I blushed red_. It's fine, I'll figure it out. I hope. Pray._

The hammocks we were handed were made of coarse but strong white rope that was latticed together tightly in numerous and countless braids of fibers. It was the kind that folds up around you once you're in it, so no one can see in, at least very easily.

I was beat. For days, I'd been wandering around aimlessly, trying to find my way to the ocean. I'd spent weeks scuffing my bare feet on foreign rubble and gravel, wandering from town to town. My eyes were barely able to stay open, and now I was full, fat, and warm.

I easily took the hammock from Nick and hooked the little metal tabs into the wall, where the hammock was supposed to hang. After a few minutes or struggling, I finally got it on right, and almost literally tumbled into the now soft feeling hammock. I felt it shift as Nick climbed in, his feet almost hitting my head. If they smelled, I just didn't notice. I might in the morning, though.

"Hey, guys, goodnight, I'm beat. If I seem dead, well, I'm not. Just very much unconscious," I murmured sleepily, to the laughs and quiet chuckles of my new crewmates.

In my swimming mind, I drowsily saw Edward in a hammock right across from me, separated by about five feet. Both Nick and I settled in until we were comfortable and after a few jibes about smelly feet going where, I fell asleep, still peering out through a little slit in the hammock. Right at my Adonis. And what was a dreaming or, you might ask? It doesn't take much of an imagination. Edward Cullen.

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**Well, there's the long awaited chapter 6! I really hope that all of the readers who are actually reading this after Ive left them out to dry for so long enjoyed this. Please please please review! I really need to know opinions on my stories to make them better. So...**

**Please?**


	7. Alluring

**Heyyo again! wow I did a nice job this time! It's not my very best chapter, but it's not all that bad, either. I'm more surprised that I got it up this quickly!! It's only been a coupla days, be proud of me! **

**And for anyone who's confused, this starts off back in the weird chapter with the head. And I'm not sure if I need to include my dictionary here, too, but if I completely missed something, there's a reaon for reviewing! Besides the fact that it makes me happy and gets me to update quicker **

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**Chapter 7: Alluring **

EPOV

Ise was definitely an enormous curiosity. He was sharp, quick, and had an impenetrable mind. For some reason, as well, his blood had absolutely no appeal to me, gave me no reason to want to attack and drain him lifeless. Any vampire would be freaked out by that. Having to conceal panic isn't all that easy, even with centuries of practice. I had never found my blood singer, but human blood was the hardest to resist if you hadn't. When Ise had leaped against me in the cramped, wine-smelly, claustrophobic room, I had tensed up, preparing for an assault of a sweet, irresistible scent to tempt me that should have been excavating from his body, only have nothing at all affect me but the smell of fear that permeated the entire room.

Another point of interest that I tried not to dwell on was that Ise's body was so thin, but other than that, his body felt so wrong and right at he same time. His body structure felt too willowy, less stocky, than it was supposed to be for a boy or man. What really and truly concerned me, as well as scared the hell out of me was the way our bodies seemed to fit together absolutely perfectly.

All of this was enough to drive me crazy. The blocked mind just added a huge amount to my already growing panic. His unquestionable intellect was a huge curiosity, because from the little bit of trouble we were all in, he had reacted calmly, coolly, and inventively. He unquestionably also had his wits gathered about him. I had a feeling that those very wits had saved him many times over since he was set on the path to the street life. He seemed a little bit too cautious, though; his manner seemed to say that he had something to hide, and was desperate to keep us wanting, unknowing what he keeping to himself.

Something that truly scared me, though, was that feeling in his eyes. Our eyes had met and I felt my breath leave me gasping for unneeded air. Some of the only times that I've ever heard that happen to vampires is either when they have a HUGE laugh attack, or a couple is "busy". Living with Alice and Jasper, Rosalie and Emmett (those two animals had to be the freakin worst of the bunch), and Esme and Carlisle had some definite downsides. Once their thoughts started getting a little explicit (I once got a _very_ vivid mental picture of Emmett from Rosalie's mind, ew ew ew ew ew), I tend to leave the vicinity. Fast. During those "activities" the gasping breath started coming into play. Which was why I was more than a little freaked.

I was with the others in the head. They were all joking around as I stood next to the entryway. Suddenly, Ise's footsteps trod down the hall.

As he poked his head shyly through the opening, the others noticed him.

"And so the hero surfaces," laughed Jake, "our savior and hope, the bright eyes of us all, Ise-" he was cut off abruptly as Nick cuffed the larger boy in the head.

Ise crinkled his nose in what had to be annoyance, and then laughed along with everyone else until he caught my gaze for less than a fraction of a second, and went red.

Ise's eyes are ones that you can melt into. And melt into them I did, as we stood in the head. Dark recesses pool into an endless, starry gaze. So many different thoughts, memories, emotions, all took refuge in those eyes, so deep that they were a millennia long, begging for someone, the right someone, to know their stories, and release them from their loneliness. A fierce ache spread through my entire body as I lost myself in those depthless eyes of unfathomable mysteries.

It felt like it was a few good seconds later that I finally registered the expression on Ise's face, although it was less than a second. A look of the dazzled had overcome him, but with a difference; there was a burning intensity and what was and could only be unconscious mental anguish.

It was the anguish that made me tear my own eyes away from his cavernous but warm, chocolate brown eyes and smooth ivory face. Again, as I turned away, I felt a strong but soft undercurrent of electricity connect us for a scant eight of a second. Then I quickly grinned and turned away in bafflement.

_Ise, why the hell can you do this to me? Why do you make me feel the need to breathe? Why are you so alluring even as your blood has no appeal? Why do your eyes entrance me so? Why does the concern that I'm trying to block from my on mind for you break through and occupy my thoughts? You so confound me!_ I thought as I turned away into the hall hatchway.

As I went outside, leaving a breathless Ise behind me, I saw the big one, Willy, begin to paint a brilliant ocean sunset as Johnny went below me to check on Ise. Colors danced and swirled beautifully in patterns almost indiscernible, melding together in casual but well thought out swirls.

I invaded his mind for a moment, and I heard complete immersment.

'_Dabs of red, a blue lick here, oh, I need green to dull that purple there…'_ he thought.

Johnny had arrived a second ago as I listened to Willy, and was now crouched with the others that were surrounding the oblivious painting boy, and were all sitting in awed and respectful silence as they watched a master at work.

Taking another look at the boy and his breathtaking painting, instantly I knew that if he was a vampire, his majestic power of the arts would come through most proficiently.

Behind me, Ise clambered up the hatchway, to crouch between Nick and Jake to join the still apparently growing circle of admirers. His expression showed true appreciation for the artwork, a thousand fold more respectful of it than the others.

_This boy really knows a master at work, _I thought in surprise. _Damn it Ise, you still continue to confound me more every moment!_

After while later, after what seemed like eons of just gazing into Ise's face, what seemed like an abnormally loud stomach growl erupted and split the silence very efficiently.

"O-o, oh, yeah, we never did go to get something to eat after that little storeroom incident, did we? I need to be fed, and I think we all know that now that Ise needs to be fed on command," Johnny said after giving Willy and then Ise a startled look, accompanied by a grin. Ise stuck his tongue out, but I don't even think he realized that he did, making me want to chuckle.

That grin that Johnny gave Ise was really bothering me, though. There was nothing special about it, but that fact that he was allowed to smile at Ise was annoying. The fact that I cared about it just bothered me more.

"Oh, you guys, you didn't have to stay here and watch me paint, you know," Willy blustered, embarrassed. Let's go eat, I'm hungry anyway. I can always finish this later if you all want to fawn all over me and my painting skills," he added with a joking grin.

The others, stuttering, went to go eat as Willy carefully added one last touch for the moment, and followed them, with me trailing behind.

We were just about to reach the mess hall when the smell of unwashed human blood in the combination of unwashed men entered my sensitive nose, I wanted to gag, and almost did. Ise was right in front of me, tense about something. The other were all ahead of the two of us, bugging Willy by bombarding him with questions.

I finally couldn't take it anymore with every step.

"Hey, I'm sorry, I just don't want to eat right now, you guys. Actually, I don't really feel too great right now," I said. Only half of that was true. I felt fine, but I was thirsty, and I don't think anyone aboard would appreciate it if I _did_ eat right now.

Something in my tone made Ise turn around, with a worried look on his face. As our eyes met yet again, I felt a little electricity shock me for a moment. A current seemed to momentarily run between us again, catching us both as I lost myself in his never-ending pools of chocolate. I lost myself almost completely in his eyes _again_, analyzing every aspect of his eyes and what was hidden there.

I grinned softly, that stupid crooked grin, and Ise looked down, blushing profusely.

The others all said something along the lines, "sure, dude, feel better" "maybe we'll bring you something later" and even a quiet murmur of "I hope I don't catch whatever it is he's got." Whatever, Mikey's opinion didn't matter too much to me.

I grabbed my seabag where I had dropped it topside, and picked apart the other sailor's heads, looking for the crews' berths. Gracefully and swiftly, I strutted into the berths, and picked a spot that was unused, specifically for the newbies. I easily hung a hammock on the hooks on the wall, and collapsed into it.

For a long, long time, I thought about the boy with the glowing, alluring, hypnotizing chocolate eyes.

**Chapter 7, complete! Hopefully this will hold you over for the next chapter, this is more of a filler that I had in my head. This was just important to explain the character's emotions and personalities better.**

**Review, please please please!!**


	8. Dont Shoot Please! Author's Note

**Authors Note! **

**I'm so sorry please don't kill me! *crawls out **_**very**_** nervously from behind the couch as I wait for the gun shots to go off and the angry readers with pitchforks chase me to the brink of death* I know that it's been months since I last updated for either of my unfinished stories, ****Wind on the Seas**** and ****Washed Away****, but life's been so incredibly insane that its almost literally painful =P school started and field hockey started and the daily drama started, so my life's kinda been a train wreck for the past few months. I'm so incredibly sorry for my readers having to wait this long, but I wanted to get this out: I've decided to rewrite ****Wind on the Seas****, at least for sentence structure and grammer, but also for some of the insanely stupid ideas and pointless and uninteresting plot twists. My laptop crashed two weeks back, so I lost all of my work, but I got it back through internet =P so, I can still keep some of the original works if anyone so desires, expect for chapter 1, which I can't change back *oopsies* it'll take me some time, but I hope to start getting some of my old chappies redone and up. And for the record, I have up to chapter 12 written out, I believe, on paper, so they still need to be typed and edited, etc, but I DO have them written!!! As for ****Washed Away****, I'll fix up some horrifying problems I realized I had with it, and try to put it up as soon as possible, the same as with ****Wind****. Just please please please don't shoot and be patient for a little while longer… I'm SO sorry for this HUGE delay =[**


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